Monthly Startup Grind debuts at Loyola University Maryland on Sept. 18

Baltimore is getting its own chapter of Startup Grind in September sponsored by Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm Wasabi Ventures, as Technically Baltimore reported Wednesday.
The meetup of entrepreneurs, startup founders, techies, students — and pretty much anyone else interested — will be held monthly at Loyola University Maryland, says Kendall D. Ryan, Wasabi’s director of events and outreach. It’s a ticketed, paid event, although admission purchased in advance is just $10. Ryan says the first Startup Grind on September 18 will be capped at around 150 people.
Purchase your tickets for Startup Grind on September 18, 6 p.m. to 9 p.m. The event will take place in the Fourth Floor Programming Room inside Loyola’s Andrew White Student Center. (Lost? Click here for a map.)

Attendees will have the chance to speak with each other (and eat pizza) during an hour-long networking portion at the event’s start. After that, the event switches to an interview format, wherein a moderator will ask SocialToaster CEO and founder Brian Razzaque questions related to how he started his company and what challenges he has faced as an entrepreneur. Once the interview with Razzaque is finished, audience members will have a chance to ask their own questions. (Wasabi Ventures has invested money in SocialToaster.)
Wasabi Ventures began talking with Startup Grind founder Derek Andersen in the spring about bringing the meetup to Baltimore. Both are global companies, and it “just worked out,” Ryan says. Wasabi Ventures is already partnering with Loyola University Maryland on the new accelerator program housed on campus, and soon, says Ryan, Wasabi will open a permanent Baltimore office on Loyola-owned property.
The focus “is bringing the entrepreneurship scene together,” Ryan says. Each month will feature a different interviewee, and Wasabi has a “wish list” of candidates.
Founded in 2010, Startup Grind works to bring entrepreneurs and company founders together in order to “network with the smartest startup minds.”